New York Times columnist Charles Blow appeared on CNN’s New Day on Wednesday morning and blasted Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s outreach to black Americans, saying that the only people who are taking Trump seriously are other white people.

At his rally in Austin, TX Tuesday night, Trump promised that when he’s in charge, he’ll make it so that when black people walk down the street, “you don’t get shot.” This is part of the candidate’s recent efforts to whitewash his history of inflammatory racist remarks.

“First off, we have to stop calling this an outreach to black people,” Blow said. “It’s an outreach to white people.”

He went on to say that Trump’s condescending “What the hell have you got to lose?” approach to black voters is “the most insidious kind of bigotry.”

“It’s the kind of bigotry that says, ‘I will knock you down while I pretend to pick you up,'” said Blow. “It’s the kind of bigotry that says, ‘I am urinating on you and telling you to dance in the rain.”

Black people aren’t fooled, he assured the panel. He has scoured the web and his personal acquaintances to find one black person who earnestly believes Trump’s message and supports this so-called “outreach.”

“Not a single person that I could find is taking it seriously,” he said. “The only people taking this seriously is white people.”

“This is an insult to all people of color — black, Hispanic and otherwise,” he concluded, “because he is using us as pawns” to make himself look less racist and “get to” white voters who have been reluctant to support him.

About the Author

David Ferguson is an editor at Raw Story. He was previously writer and radio producer in Athens, Georgia, hosting two shows for Georgia Public Broadcasting and blogging at Firedoglake.com and elsewhere. He is currently working on a book.